MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Oct. 24–31)
WIAA DIVISION 3 VOLLEYBALL: No. 2 Cuba City 3, No. 1 Mineral Point 1
By Casey Lindecrantz, Tri-County Press
Next stop, Resch Center: Cubans top top-seeded rival Mineral Point en route to state berth
MINERAL POINT — For the first time since 2012, Cuba City is a WIAA Division 3 Sectional champion, after a semifinal upset over No. 1 seed and SWAL champion Mineral Point last Thursday preceding a sectional final victory over fellow No. 2 seed La Crosse Aquinas last Saturday.
Earlier in the week was a rematch of the top two teams in the SWAL as the Pointers (27–6, 12–0) played host for the sectional semifinals in a 3–1 finish that easily could’ve seen a fifth set.
“Our game plan was to take care of our side of the court and not focus in on one player,” Cuba City head coach Kari Lawson said.
As the match moved through the first three sets, it nearly did reach five.
The Cubans (30—3, 11—1 SWAL) opened with an intensity that kept Mineral Point on its heels, going on 3–2 and 6–5 runs to open up a 9–7 lead. The Pointers took the lead on a 3–0 run of their own before Kraus claimed the tie as her attack deflected out of bands off Mineral Point defenders.Kills from Lainey Runde and Vosberg, as well as a Pointer error, put Cuba City ahead 13–10.
A Cuban kill and a serve error from Mineral Point matched five scores from the Pointers to bring the game to a 15–15 head. Scoring stayed even to an 18–18 tie, where Cuba City started outpacing Mineral Point. A Pointer double contact and kill from Lainey Runde along the Mineral Point back court put the Cubans ahead 20–19 after a Cuba City four-hit error. That proved to be the final lead change as the Cubans came from set one with a 25–20 win.
It was the Pointers’ chance to respond, and they came out in full force in set two as they pulled out the win, 25–18. Mineral Point didn’t have a lead larger than four points until the set close, largely in part to the efforts of Vosberg and company. The Pointers looked to open set three where the second left off, opening with a 9–2 run that only saw scores from Cuba City with a pair of kills, including one by Lainey Runde.
The following seven rallies featured points exclusively contributed to by Mineral Point – five for themselves, and two for the Cubans off attacking errors. Down 14–4, Cuba City could’ve written the set off, but championship-caliber teams don’t do that, and they rallied.
Digman, Misky, and Alexis Runde all scored kills to go with seven Pointer errors to climb to just three points down at 17–14, forcing a timeout by Mineral Point’s head coach, Kari Kabat. A Cuban netted attack and a Pointer shot deflected off Cuba City hands put a slightly larger gap between the squads.
Vosberg slammed a pair of kills to go along with a Lainey Runde ace, along with a block from Summer Rogers all contributed to a sustained Cuban surge. Cuba City completed the comeback at 19 points for both squads as Mineral Point recorded an attacking error. A pair of kills from Vosberg as well as a block from the Cubans kept them in step with the Pointers through the 22-point mark.
Mineral Point scored a kill just past a diving Olson to go along with a serve error that sent the ball flying behind the crowd-side of the Cuba City back court.
The Pointers redeemed themselves, scoring a cross-court kill to take a narrow, 24-23 advantage, but the Cubans wouldn’t be stopped. Two kills favoring Cuba City along with a Mineral Point error sealed the set for the Cubans, 26–24.
“I didn’t expect to be down 14–4 in set three, and come out of that ahead,” Lawson said.
With just one set standing between Cuba City and a date with the sectional final, the Cubans wasted no time in sealing the win. Attacking errors also plagued the Pointers over the fourth set.
While Mineral Point tallied the first point of the set, errors accounted for four of Cuba City’s nine points in its 9-3 opening run resulting in a Pointer timeout. Among the Cubans’ early contributors were Vosberg and Rogers with a kill apiece. More errors accounted for Cuba City’s extended lead with two being attacking errors, and the third — a serve error sailing past the Cuban back court.
At a 13–6 split favoring Cuba City, Mineral Point finally locked down, committing just two errors to go along with one Cuban error. Lainey Runde also maintained a healthy stream of kills to minimize the Pointer surge, and Lawson called a timeout at an 18–13 advantage for Cuba City.
Mineral Point errors accounted for all of the Cubans’ scores at a 21–17 mark that garnered Kabat’s second timeout of the set. A Pointer kill, bolstered by two Cuba City errors, put Mineral Point up to 20 points in the fourth, but the Cubans wouldn’t be denied, scoring four points to close the set, 25–20, and the match, 3-1.
The win for Cuba City avenged their prior 3–1 loss to the Pointers at home at the beginning of October, a match that turned out to be the deciding game for the SWAL conference championship. The loss also marked Mineral Point’s (27–6, 12–0 SWAL) only home loss of the season.
“From October 3 on, we knew we would probably see them, and our kids were embracing the opportunity,” Lawson said. “They wanted another shot against the Pointers. This is what Kabat and I both kind of expected, to meet again in the tournament.”
In Saturday's sectional final, the Blugolds (21–11) never keeled over in their 3–0 loss to the Cubans, but Cuba City maintained a strong presence throughout Saturday’s showdown.
“We had to play ahead of a tough La Crosse Aquinas team that plays tough schools,” Cuban head coach Keri Lawson said.
The opening set went back-and-forth to a 13–12 head favoring Aquinas. Cuba City flipped the lead to 19–16 following scores from Lainey Runde and Ella Vosberg, as well as errors from the Blugolds. After an attacking error from the Cubans, Vosberg tallied a kill resulting directly from a diving save by Olivia Olson. More mirrored scores gave way to a 25–21 set win for Cuba City with a kill and an Aquinas attacking error being the deciding scores.
An 8–2 run that opened set two gave the Cubans a lead that never flipped, though the Blugolds did climb close in the closing rallies. A 25–21 split reminiscent of the opening set was the final score of the second, and it favored Cuba City yet again.
The closing set started much differently for the Cubans. Lainey Runde scored the opening point with a kill, but Aquinas surged, scoring six of the next eight rallies. Vosberg was responsible for the pair of points favoring Cuba City.
Summer Rogers, Alexis Runde, Lainey Runde was assisted by Isabella Digman, and Rachel Kraus all tallied kills along with an out of bounds serving error from the Blugolds. The scoring kept the Cubans at a 4-point deficit, 13–9. Lainey Runde and Vosberg matched a pair of scores from Aquinas, and a block from Vosberg closed the deficit by a point.
Errors from Cuba City were redeemed with a kill and block by Maya Misky, as well as a lift from the Blugolds. A trio of points from Aquinas gave way to a 20-15 deficit for the Cubans and Lawson’s first timeout of the set. Alexis Runde scored a pair of kills alongside two Blugold errors, and a Lainey Runde kill gave Cuba City its first tie-or-lead at 20-20 since the set opened.
Two Aquinas errors outweighed just one from the Cubans, putting Cuba City up, 22–21. Errors continued to rear their head, with two going against the Cubans, and a Lainey Runde block leveled the field at 23–23. Alexis Runde served up an ace that was matched by a Blugold kill. A kill, as well as an ace by Lainey Runde sent Cuba City to the Resch Center, 26–24.
“We knew going in that Aquinas had two strong outside hitters, so we had to get good blocks on them,” Vosberg said. “If we got all of our hitters involved, we’d be ready to take the win.”
As Lainey Runde’s ace was called by the refs, the Cuban bench, and their student section, piled onto the court.
“I am feeling what (the girls) are feeling,” Lawson said. “The Sectional Final is the most electric part of the tournament. State’s great, but having this win and being able to finish out at Resch, letting these girls live out their dreams. I’m happy.”
All that’s left for the Cubans is two matchups at 11:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
The reseeding for the State Semifinals has Cuba City at the No. 3 seed, and they will face No. 2 seed St. Croix Falls. The Saints (33–2) have been ranked as the top program in Division 3 for the better part of the season, and haven’t dropped a set in this year’s tournament.
Should they win, the Cubans will face the winner of No. 1 seed Howards Grove (30–4) against No. 4 seed St. Mary Catholic (30–4).
Division 3 Sectional Semifinal
Cuba City 3, Mineral Point 1
(from Thursday, Oct. 26 @ Mineral Point)
#2 Cuba City..........25 18 26 25
#1 Mineral Point...20 25 24 20
Cuba City stat leaders
Kills: Lainey Runde 14, Ella Vosberg 11, Maya Misky 6. Blocks: L. Runde 9, Rachel Kraus 6, Summer Rogers 3, Misky 2. Assists: Ella McKinley 19, Isabella Digman 16, Olivia Olson 3. Aces: Alexis Runde 2, Digman, Olson, & L. Runde 1. Digs: Vosberg 19, Olson & A. Runde 15, McKinley & Kraus 7.
Division 3 Sectional Final
Cuba City 3, La Crosse Aquinas 0
(from Saturday, Oct. 28 @ Westby)
#2 Aquinas.......21 21 12
#2 Cuba City.....25 25 25
Cuba City stat leaders
Kills: Ella Vosberg 13, Lainey Runde 9, Alexis Runde & Rachel Kraus 5. Blocks: Summer Rogers & L. Runde 3, Maya Misky & Kraus 2, Vosberg & A. Runde 1. Assists: Isabella Digman 17, Ella McKinley 16. Aces: L. Runde 4, Olivia Olson 2, Eydie Cummins 1, A. Runde 1. Digs: Olson 11, Vosberg 9, A. Runde 6, McKinley 4, L. Runde & Kraus 3.
